- ACTIVE TIME: 25 minutes
- TOTAL TIME: 2 hours
- SERVES: 8 people
Make Ahead Pimiento Cheese Mashed Potatoes
These super-flavorful mashed potatoes are inspired by Southern-style pimento cheese, with sharp cheddar, sweet pimientos and tangy cream cheese and sour cream. Campbell’s® Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup keeps everything creamy and rich. This recipe is made ahead of time and popped in the oven right before serving, eliminating the stress of mashing potatoes at the last minute.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Coarse Kosher Salt
- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 16 ounces (2 cups) sour cream, at room temperature
- 8 ounces (1 cup) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 (10.5-ounce) can Campbell’s® Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 3 (4-ounce) jars pimientos, drained
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for the dish
- Chopped chives, for topping, optional
Directions
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes, bring back up to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer the potatoes until a paring knife slides through them, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and return them to the same pot, over low heat. Using a potato masher, coarsely break up the potatoes, then add the sour cream, cream cheese, Campbell’s® Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne and 1 teaspoon salt. Mash the potatoes together with the other ingredients until smooth. Turn off the heat. Using a spatula, fold in the cheese and the pimientos. Taste and add more salt, pepper or cayenne, if you wish.
- Butter a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Spoon the potatoes into the dish and dot the top with the butter. Let cool and then cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. (You can also bake right away, if you prefer.)
- Take the potatoes out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the foil or plastic wrap and bake the potatoes until the top and sides are golden, 40 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving, topped with chives, if desired.
QUICK TIP
Using a mix of both Yukon gold (sometimes just called “gold”) potatoes and russets makes for a nicely creamy and fluffy texture, but you may use one or the other if you prefer. Golds will yield a creamy and dense mash while russets will yield a fluffier mash.
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